Chaz Bono: From Chastity to Chaz Through The Years

Chaz Bono: New Body, New Wardrobe

Chaz Bono checks his text messages after doing some shopping at John Varvatos in West Hollywood, Calif., January 14, 2014.

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Chaz Bono: New Body, New Wardrobe

Chaz Bono checks his text messages after doing some shopping at John Varvatos in West Hollywood, Calif., January 14, 2014.

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Chaz Bono Through The Years

Chaz Bono was honored at the 2012 GLAAD Media Awards for his OWN documentary "Becoming Chaz" and with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award given by GLAAD to a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender entertainer. His mother, Cher, surprised him by turning up in a large afro wig. "HE was adorable,Said wow mom i was so surprised i forgot what i was going 2say!" the singer later tweeted.

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Chaz Bono's Proposal to Longtime Girlfriend

On the premiere of OWN's 'Being Chaz,' Chaz Bono asks for the hand of his girlfriend Jennifer Elia atop Seattle's Space Needle. 'It's stunning. It's huge, " gushed Elia about her new engagement ring. The couple announced they broke up on December 19, 2011

Courtesy of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Born Chastity Sun Bono March 4, 1969, to megastars Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz Bono detailed his going through gender reassignment surgery and transformation from female to male in his new memoir, "Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man," which is in stores now. In this photo, a 7-month-old Bono plays with mother Cher.

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Singing sensations Cher and Sonny Bono first lit up the pop charts with their 1965 hit song, "I Got You Babe." This family portrait was taken in 1971 when Chaz Bono was 2, the same year that the popular TV series, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," debuted. Bono is Sonny and Cher's only child.

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Cher holding 2-year-old Bono.

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

In his documentary, "Becoming Chaz," which debuted at the 2011 Sundance Festival, Bono talked about how he loathed the footage of him from the "Sonny & Cher" years. "I looked retarded on that show," he said in the film. He also talked about his childhood desire to be just like his dad, Sonny Bono. In this photo, the two are dressed in matching houndstooth suits on an episode of "Sonny & Cher" in 1972.

CBS Photo Archive

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Bono has said publically that he always felt like a male trapped in a female shell. Here, Bono is pictured with friend Ricky in 1978.

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Bono's seventh-grade school picture, 1982. "My seventh- and eighth-grade year was a particularly hellacious year for me," he told "Nightline." "Puberty. And I was at a school that just wasn't appropriate for my needs. It was just very straight, strict academic school."

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Bono's sexuality first made headlines when he was 18, then still Chastity, and was outed by a tabloid magazine. Bono is shown here with a friend, Heidi, at the Oscars in 1987, where his mother, Cher, won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for the role of Loretta Castorini in "Moonstruck."

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

Cher, Bono and his aunt after one of Cher's shows in 1991. In a 2010 interview with "Nightline's" Cynthia McFadden, Cher said it was difficult for her after her daughter came out as a lesbian. "She had told everybody but me," Cher said at the time, "because she was frightened to tell me...What are people going to think?"

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono Through The Years

As he aged, Bono struggled with being a woman. "I just thought something was wrong with me," Bono told "Nightline." "I was really a man so I never wanted to be a woman. That's how I was failing as a lesbian." His mother, Cher, divorced Sonny Bono in 1975 and married rock star Gregg Allman of the Allman brothers. The couple had a son, Elijah Blue Allman, in 1976. This photo shows Allman and Chaz Bono, then Chastity, in Malibu in 1992.

Courtesy Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono: From Chastity to Chaz

In a rare and candid interview at his home in West Hollywood, Calif., Bono, 42, talked to "Nightline's" Cynthia McFadden about his contentment with the decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery. "This is how I was born. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind," he said. "It has exceeded every expectation that I've had." Bono is pictured here with McFadden, right, and his partner, Jennifer Elia, left, during the May 2011 interview.

Rick Rowell/ABC News

Chaz Bono: From Chastity to Chaz

Chaz's latest challenge is "Dancing With The Stars." The two-hour season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars," will be broadcast on Sept. 19 on the ABC Television Network.